Leclerc tops truncated wet practice in Singapore

Charles Leclerc has topped a shortened wet final practice session ahead of Sunday’s Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.

Leclerc headed Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz at the end of a session that only saw on-track action in the final 30 minutes of the hour.

While technically the session got going on time, it did so with a red light at pit exit.

It was designed to ensure at least some running, should the conditions improve sufficiently to allow it, given any delay to Free Practice 3 would impact the start time (and therefore the television timings) for Qualifying.

The pit exit was finally opened after 30 minutes had elapsed, though it took another two minutes before Pierre Gasly trundled out.

He did so on the full wet tyres, plumes of spray trailing the Scuderia AlphaTauri.

There remained puddles in some sections but otherwise, there was little in the way of standing water.

Gasly’s first timed lap was a 2:09.894s, more than 25 seconds slower than the times seen during dry running on Friday.

Verstappen was the first to brave the intermediate rubber when he rolled out of the garage with 21 minutes remaining.

He quickly went fastest with a 2:06.872s, while others followed his lead and bolted on the shallow-grooved rubber.

That included Gasly, who improved to a 2:06.115s to leave himself 0.7s clear at the top of the timesheets.

He held that spot only until Verstappen completed his next lap, the Dutchman managing a 2:03.272s.

Gasly also went faster, though fell 0.206s shy of his former team-mate’s effort.

Times continued to tumble as conditions improved, and a hint of a dry line appeared in places.

That saw Verstappen record a 1:59.456s inside the final 10 minutes at a time when all 20 cars were on track.

It was important running, as there is the real possibility Qualifying will also be wet.

With five minutes remaining, Leclerc rose to the top of the timesheets with a 1:58.899s, improving next time by to 1:57.782s, 0.586s clear of Verstappen.

Conditions were notably better at the conclusion of the session, the plumes of spray seen when Gasly first exited the lane almost non-existent unless a car ran off line; outside of the racing line and it remained treacherous.

When the chequered flag fell on the truncated session, Leclerc was fastest from Verstappen, then Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso.

Sergio Perez slotted in fifth ahead of Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Sebastian Vettel, George Russell, and Daniel Ricciardo.

Qualifying follows next, at 21:00 local time.

Results: Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Free Practice 3